Living my best life, The best way I know how

A Few of My Obsessions

21April 2014April 21, 2014April 21, 2014February 20, 2018

Stationery. I cannot resist cute notebooks, patterned “Thank You” notes, brightly colored note pads, quality pens, etc. Perhaps it’s the writer in me, but I convince myself that I need them all. The dollar bins at places like Target and Michael’s full of their cutesy note cards and matching envelopes? Forget about it. I love making to-do lists, sending people notes and receiving notes. What’s not to love?

A Cappella Covers. I am a sucker for a perfect harmony. There’s just nothing like it. Penatonix. Straight No Chaser. Can’t get enough.

And here… (This is one of my favorite songs of all time, and this is a beautiful version.)

(Side note – although not a cappella, if you love that song as much as I do, you should check out this version, too. David Phelps is just phenomenal.)

Pioneer Woman. For real. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the woman can do no wrong. If you love to cook, if you’ve never cooked, or even if you’re terribly afraid to cook, for the love of all things holy, BUY HER COOKBOOKS AND COOK SOMETHING FROM THEM.

I literally took her entire “Easter Brunch” menu from her holiday cookbook and made the whole thing. And it was perfection. Not to toot my own horn or anything, (okay, maybe a little toot,) ((and now I’m giggling at “little toot”)) but all credit due to PW. My Oklahome-girl.

I mean, just look at this carrot cake… (it’s as good as it looks.)

Not exactly health conscious, but delicious.

Hosting. Sure, it requires a lot of planning, sometimes a lot of spending and can be a little stressful during the preparation. But there is seriously nothing I get more out of than serving and caring for people. There’s just something so gratifying in knowing that people you love are feeling loved and content and happy. I love it. Even when I complain about all the work it is/was or how exhausting it can be, I still truly love doing it.

HONY. If you don’t follow HONY on social media, or have never heard of the blog or the books, run, don’t walk, to Facebook and start following them immediately. It stands for “Humans of New York” and the photographer spends his days walking around the city, taking random snapshots of people and getting a one or two-line quote from them. It is so raw, authentic and charming. It runs the gamut from happy to sad, weird to hilarious, and every single one makes me smile or think. And it makes you realize just how much we all have in common as human beings and that everyone has a right to be who they are. I. love. It. Fair warning – it’s totally addictive the first time you discover it, and nearly impossible not to keep clicking “next.”

A couple of favorites to give you an idea…

“When my husband was dying, I said: ‘Moe, how am I supposed to live without you?’ He told me: ‘Take the love you have for me and spread it around.’”

This was so funny. I was walking home last night, when I noticed someone waving at me from the window of a cab. The cab was stopped at a red light, so I walked up to the window to say ‘hello.’ It was a mother and daughter.
“I just wanted to say ‘hi,’ said the daughter, timidly. I reached in and shook her hand. Meanwhile, the mother was frantically pulling cash out of her purse and handing it to the driver.
“She’s shy!” said the mother. “But I’m not! My daughter loves your website, and we’re getting out of this cab right now so we can talk to you!”

“He’s an electrical engineer, and when he’s working, he’s always so serious and focused. But when he’s dancing, he just glows.”

“… that’s probably more information than he needs.”

And rounding out today’s list of obsessions is…

Tabouli. When I was a kid, I hated tabouli. My parents loved it and I couldn’t understand why – I thought it tasted disgusting. And so I went a good portion of my life believing that I hated tabouli. And then something magical happened a few years back. It came back into my life one night at a little steakhouse and I’ve been addicted ever since.

It’s one of my favorite things to make in the spring and summer because it’s so light and refreshing and delicious with fresh parsley and good homegrown tomatoes. I make it in huge batches so I can eat it with pretty much every meal for a week.

And this weekend, I lucked out again. Two of our best friends got married and lucky for me, they had tabouli at the wedding. And not just that – LEFTOVER tabouli after the wedding. Probably because most people tried it as a kid and are still afraid of it like I used to be, but luckily for me, I know better now. And their loss is my gain! Quite literally in this case, as I’ve eaten almost an entire giant container of the stuff.

If you are suffering like I was for so long, convinced that you hate tabouli too, do yourself a favor and try it again as an adult. Your tastebuds will thank you.

Better yet – let me know and I’ll make you some and then host you at my house for a tabouli night, accompanied by some of PW’s delicious treats while we listen to a cappella music and flip through HONY posts! And then you can send me a thank you note, so we can incorporate all of my current obsessions into one glorious event.